Container for toilet paper rolls



Jan. 7, 1958 I. C. STEVENSON l CONTAINER FOR TOILET PAPER ROLLS FiledOCT.. 18, 1954 KNIIIIMJIIIHIM .I..I|....illll` linx,...

Hulhmwnllhrilll.

/NNE/VT/P @Signe/25012 nbf @y if ZW @7mm/fr United States Patent OCONTAINER FOR TOILET PAPER ROLLS Irving C. Stevenson, San Francisco,Calif.

Application October 18, 1954, Serial No. 462,805

1 Claim. (Cl. S12-234) The present invention relates to improvements ina container for toilet paper rolls, and its principal object is toprovide a container of the character described which fits neatly into abath room, is attractive in appearance, and is adapted for storing anumber of rolls of toilet paper in stacked relation prior to theirtransfer to a dispensing device.

It is further proposed to arrange the container in such a manner thatthe rolls of toilet paper stored therein are normally kept out of sight,while still being available of easy access upon the mere opening of aswinging door.

It is further proposed to provide, in combination with the container, asuitable marker which comes into View whenever the container is empty,so that the housewife may ascertain at a glance whether the stock onhand has been depleted and if re-tlling is necessary.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a marker whichis normally brought, by spring pressure, into juxtaposition with respectto a window in the container, but which is depressed into inactiveposition by the weight of one or more rolls of toilet paper stored inthe container.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thespecification proceeds, and the new and useful features of my toiletpaper container will be fully defined in the claim attached hereto.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the preferred form of my invention;and

Figure 2, a vertical section taken substantially along line 2-2 ofFigure 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should beunderstood that various changes or modifications may be made within thescope of the claim attached hereto, without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my container 1 is preferably made inthe form of an upright cabinet of a suitable height and width toaccommodate a desired number of toilet paper rolls 2 therein in stackedrelation.

The container is preferably constructed to fit in the corner of a bathroom and comprises a pair of side walls 3 and 4 arranged at a rightangle with respect to one another and top and bottom walls 5 and 6holding the side walls in angular relationship, the bottom wall 6forming the floor of the container.

The front edges of the top and bottom walls are suitably curved, as at7, and the free edge of one of the side walls has a door 8 hingedthereto, as at 9, the door following the curvature of the front edges ofthe top and bottom members and being dimensioned to form a completeclosure for the front opening of the container.

The door 8 may be held in closed position by means of a suitable clasp10 engaging over a ball 11.

The container is extended a certain distance below the iloor 6 along thesame outer contour to form a lower chamber 12 formed with a fixed frontwall'13, The latter wall has a window or opening 14 in the centralportion thereof.

The iloor 6 has a leaf spring 15 mounted thereon, the spring having oneend anchored to the floor, as at 16, near the corner of the cabinet andprojectingforwardly from its anchoring point in a substantially medianline.

The spring is tensioned to cause its free end 17 to normally spring awayfrom the oor, but to be depressed by the weight of one or more rollsresting thereon` The free end of the spring has a downward extension 1Swhich projects through a hole 19 in the iloor, and carries, at its lowerend, a marker 20 which is positioned opposite the window and which ismovable with respect thereto.

The marker carries the word Empty in such a manner that the word appearsopposite the window when the spring occupies its natural position, as inFigure 2, andV disappears below the window when the spring is depressedby the weight of one or more rolls of toilet paper, as in Figure l.

The lower end of the lower chamber may be closed as by a 4bottom 21which may be formed with a suitable opening 2?. to give access to theinterior, and the side walls may be formed with suitable holes 23 forsuspension from nails or screws in the wall of the room.

In use, the container or cabinet may be suspended in any suitable cornerof a bath room or the like, and may be filled with a stack of toiletpaper rolls in. the manner shown.

The rolls may be removed successively as occasion arises. As long as oneroll is left in the cabinet, it will depress the spring 15 and cause themarker Empty to disappear below the window 14.

When the last roll of toilet paper has been removed, the free end of thespring 15 rises and brings the marker opposite the window, Thus thehousewife may ascertain at a glance whether the container is empty andarrange her purchases accordingly.

The cabinet is intended to be rather ornamental, as well as useful, anda corner cabinet is preferred because it usually tits into the outlinesof a bath room more unobtrusively than a flat form mounted against theilat side of a wall.

it is apparent, of course, that different forms may be developed to suitdifferent conditions, and that I, therefore desire protection on thegeneral idea of my invention rather than on the form shown.

i claim:

A bathroom fixture for holding a stack of rolls of toilet papercomprising a portable, upright and externally uncontined cabinet havinga pair of straight and upright side walls arranged at a right angle toone another so as to fit into a rectangular corner of a bath room, topand bottom members for holding the side walls in angular relation havingcircularly curved front edges and a circularly bent door hinged to oneof the side Walls and adapted to fit upon the front edges and to form aclosure for the front opening, the side walls having means forsuspending the saine in a corner section of the bath room, and thedimensions of the cabinet being such as to accommodate a stack of toiletpaper rolls therein, and means visible from the outside of the cabinetand operable by the weight of the roll for visually indicating thepresence of a roll in the cabinet, the latter means comprising an apronsuspended from the cabinet and fitting into the contour thereof andhaving a window therein, a marker movable with respect to the window andspring means associated with the bottom member and supporting themarker, the spring means being tensioned to present the 3 markeropposite the window when the cabinet is empty, 510,199 but beingoperable by the Weight of a roll to move the 692,178 marker into aninactive position. 969,038 2,310,072 References Cited in the le of thispatent 5 2, 57 5,530 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,719,528

359,213 Leavitt Mar. 8, 1887 4 Sheldon Dec. 5, r1893 Burnham Jan. 28,1902 Carmony e Aug. 30, 1910 Fry Feb. 2, 1943 Reid Nov. 20, 1951Gabrrielsen Oct. 4, 1955

